Latest

NSA: Anonymous Could Cause Power Outages Through Cyberattacks

Anonymous already has a diverse set of tactics, including showing up to awards ceremonies. But the NSA is worried that its cyberattacks could bring about power outages across the US. https://gizmodo.com/anonymous-invades-the-spanish-academy-awards-ceremony-f-5886437 The Wall Street Journal reports that Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the NSA, has described in private meetings how “Anonymous could have the ability…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe

Kisai Finally Makes An Easy-to-Read Watch—Once You Figure It Out

I’ll admit it, it’s been nearly a month since I covered the Kisai Optical Illusion watch and I still can’t read the damn thing (it’s a schooner, I’m told). But Kisai’s latest user-submitted design is actually quite easy to interpret—hint: it isn’t Morse code. https://gizmodo.com/look-its-a-sailboat-wait-no-its-4-15-5879068 Dubbed the Stencil LCD Watch, it features a two-color LED…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

Iran Nixes VPN Access Ahead of Parliamentary Elections

Just a week after cutting off access to email and social networking sites, the Iranian government has blocked Virtual Private Networks, apparently to boost support for the ruling party in the upcoming election. Yes, because we saw how well that worked in Egypt. VPN is a system that encrypts communications within a public telecommunication infrastructure,…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

Your Hands Will Sing with Aural Gloves

American Sign Language may soon be obsolete if these motion-sensing gloves come to market. For now, a UBC team are the only ones to enjoy harmonizing with their own themselves. The gloves, designed by a team at the University of British Columbia led by Professor Sidney Fels, recognize their position in three-dimensional space and modulate…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

Extraordinary 298-Million-Year-Old Forest Discovered Under Chinese Coal Mine

American and Chinese scientists are flabbergasted after discovering a giant 298-million-year-old forest buried intact under a coal mine near Wuda, in Inner Mongolia, China. They are calling it the Pompeii of the Permian period because, like the ancient Roman city, it was covered and preserved by volcanic ash. Like Pompeii, this swamp forest is so…

Tech News Jesus Diaz

Mastodon: Curl of the Burl (NSFW)

This song earned Mastodon a Grammy nod. And, for those of you wondering, no. Snorting wood chips will not get you high. The other part about mushrooms giving you super strength and a lush Paul Bunyan beard—scientific FACT. Mastodon’s formed in late 2000 in Atlanta, Georgia. Its members include Troy Sanders on bass, Brent Hinds…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

Scientists Create Mutant Yeasts with Heavy Ion Beam, Sake Ensues

While the newly-generated variety of brewing yeast cooked up by boffins at the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science doesn’t shoot laser beams or gain super-strength when you piss it off, it does apparently make a very tasty rice wine. By training its heavy ion beam at a batch of brewing yeast, yhe Radiation Biology…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

Fruit Flies Fend Off Wasp Body Snatchers By Getting Drunk

Wasps like to invade fruit flies and take over their bodies, like some insect version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Scientists have now discovered that fruit flies have developed a way to defend themselves: alcohol. The Drosophila melanogaster, A.K.A. the fruit fly, has developed a resistance to alcohol. Since it thrives on yeasts that…

Tech News Kristen Philipkoski

The Amazing Special Effects of The Walking Dead Are What Make the Show Scary

Just like Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead is a fake good show. All the style and swagger, none of the substance. It had its moment during season one but this season has been a snoozefest filled with yawns, farms and not enough walkers. But you know what’s still great? The special effects. https://gizmodo.com/the-amazing-special-effects-of-boardwalk-empire-are-wha-5878291 Zombies don’t…

Tech News Casey Chan

Eating Dessert for Breakfast Can Make You Skinny

Your mother, doctors and life lied to you. According to scientists (science, people!), combining a low-calorie diet that includes dessert for breakfast will help you lose weight. Sweets, cookies, creme brulee, cake. ALL OF IT will help you lose weight if you start your day off like that. I love breakfast now. This is amazing…

Tech News Casey Chan

Leaked iOS 5.1 Build Shows Off a Camera-Slider and Expanded Siri Functionality (UPDATED)

The Portuguese-language blog BlogdoiPhone has somehow gotten its hands on a Pre-GM build of the upcoming iOS 5.1 update. Here’s what could be in store for the expected March 9th-ish update. So far, it appears that the changes are relatively minor, the blog having only discovered two additions. First, the camera will be accessible from…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

John Glenn Orbited the Earth 50 Years Ago Today

50 years ago, John Glenn was hurled from the planet to become the fifth human being and third American in outer space. More importantly, he was the first American to orbit the Earth. You know the story: Glenn blasted off in a Mercury-Atlas ship—Friendship 7. Along the way, a faulty indicator gave everyone a scare,…

Space & Spaceflight Kyle Wagner

Picture of the Day: Feb. 20, 2012

ABANDON ALL HOPE | The Gates of Hell by Joel Bocquemont, from Heavy Metal’s new graphic novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Want to read today’s io9 stories a different way? Check out our blog view. Or visit Observation Deck, our general discussion forum.

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Reservoir Dogs: Everybody Dies

Quentin Tarantino makes really violent movies, but there are none quite as psychologically warped as his directorial debut, Reservoir Dogs. A crime boss hires a dream team of dapper operatives to perform a huge diamond heist. It goes wrong and we don’t know why or what happened. In fact, the movie is less about the…

Tech News Mario Aguilar

The Oldest Living Trees in the World

The tree had been on fire for over a week before anyone noticed. The Senator, one of the oldest Cypress trees in the world, was killed when a smoldering ignition from an errant lightning strike slowly transformed it into a towering chimney and fuel source in one. Or maybe it didn’t happen like that at…

io9 Rachel Sussman - Brain Pickings

The Grossest Corporate Tweet of the Week Goes to… Waffle House!

Have you been following the Whitney Houston news for the past week? Did you catch her funeral today? Does that make you hungry for waffles? #wafflehouse! Ugh. Look, this isn’t about Whitney—that’s a whole other mess. It’s not even this specific tweet, which is dumb and shameless and oh god look how dumb it is.…

Tech News Kyle Wagner

Advertisments for scanning electron microscopes take you into the world of nano-monsters

Biological flying machine? Terrifying monster of the deep? Nope – this is just a scanning electron microscopy image of a Lamnacarus ornatus, or common mite. Industrial microscopy company FEI sells a variety of imaging rigs, including the one that produced this image. To show what their SEM machines can do, FEI created an incredible image…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Drop everything — the Bald Eagle Cam is back!

Have you ever wanted to spy on a bald eagle, watch one hatch, or watch one learn to fly? Then it’s time to put everything going on in your life on hold… at least for the next few months. The Decorah Bald Eagle Cam — aka the most powerful time-devouring procrastination tool on the entire…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Once Upon A Time: These Idiots Deserve Each Other

Last night Storybrooke transformed from a sweet, often cheesy fairytale soap-opera city… to a town full of pious twits. Snow White’s big affair was exposed and she was tattooed with a scarlet “A,” because everyone in this town is an asshole. Also, we found out the Stranger’s name! While we absolutely adore seeing the gritty…

Television Meredith Woerner

The Pulse Surface Controller Makes The World Your Instrument

Forget about using keys, buttons, knobs, or pads on a MIDI device. With the Pulse Surface Controller, you create sounds by banging on your desk, computer, or anything, really. The Pulse controller’s construction centers around a piezoelectric microphone—a special type of transducer that’s designed to turn physical vibrations into electrical signals. When you attach Pulse…

Tech News Mario Aguilar

NSA: Anonymous Could Cause Power Outages Through Cyberattacks

Kisai Finally Makes An Easy-to-Read Watch—Once You Figure It Out

Iran Nixes VPN Access Ahead of Parliamentary Elections

Your Hands Will Sing with Aural Gloves

Extraordinary 298-Million-Year-Old Forest Discovered Under Chinese Coal Mine

Mastodon: Curl of the Burl (NSFW)

Scientists Create Mutant Yeasts with Heavy Ion Beam, Sake Ensues

Fruit Flies Fend Off Wasp Body Snatchers By Getting Drunk

The Amazing Special Effects of The Walking Dead Are What Make the Show Scary

Eating Dessert for Breakfast Can Make You Skinny

Leaked iOS 5.1 Build Shows Off a Camera-Slider and Expanded Siri Functionality (UPDATED)

John Glenn Orbited the Earth 50 Years Ago Today

Picture of the Day: Feb. 20, 2012

Reservoir Dogs: Everybody Dies

The Oldest Living Trees in the World

The Grossest Corporate Tweet of the Week Goes to… Waffle House!

Advertisments for scanning electron microscopes take you into the world of nano-monsters

Drop everything — the Bald Eagle Cam is back!

Once Upon A Time: These Idiots Deserve Each Other

The Pulse Surface Controller Makes The World Your Instrument

Latest news

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Adds ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ Guy

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

The Best New Toys of March 2026

Latest Reviews

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Let us help find what you are looking for...